Weld County, business leaders hold open house in downtown Greeley to celebrate new Child Welfare Services office

Weld County’s Child Welfare Division is in high demand. Here are a few figures about the work its employees have done between January and October of this year:

» 5,511 referrals went to families.

» 310 children received foster care.

» 9 children were permanently adopted.

» 225 families were successfully reunited.

Source: Child Welfare Division

About fifty people packed into the newly renovated lobby before shuffling back outside — somewhat uncomfortably — for a ribbon cutting.

Weld County paired up with the Downtown Development Authority and the Greeley Chamber of Commerce to hold an open house on Friday afternoon. Everyone braved the chilly afternoon and its blustery winds to see the new Child Welfare Services office in the Chase Building, 822 7th St.

"This is a day of celebration for Weld County," said County Commissioner Steve Moreno, who oversees the Department of Human Services.

Although his speech was concise, one of his fellow commissioners encouraged its end with joyful and purposefully premature applause. The crowd laughed as Moreno smiled, took the cue, and ended his speech mid-sentence.

Before his early, welcomed cutoff, Moreno talked about how county officials have been preparing for the move for about two years.

Spectators shivered and pulled their coats tighter as they listened to the rest of the speeches.

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DDA Executive Director Pam Bricker said the businesses — especially restaurants — were happy to have more potential customers downtown.

"They even asked, 'Can we bring coupons?'" she said.

She pointed out the "mass exodus" downtown faced when county officials moved from the area to the new on 11th Avenue. She welcomed the employees back.

County officials moved about 140 employees into the Chase Building, which Weld acquired a few years ago. The new location gives them more space — including empty offices for future expansion — and brings employees closer to the county courthouse, 901 9th Ave. At the old location, those who worked on the legal side with children and their families had to drive to the court plaza, which took up time and parking spaces. Now, the employees are only a few blocks away.

Child Welfare administers a host of programs, including kinship care, foster care and adoption services. Its employees get between 30-40 calls per day requesting services.

In addition to offices and cubicles, the new space holds playrooms for kids who are taken into emergency custody, meeting rooms for families and professionals and multiple break areas.

The Board of County Commissioners approved the Chase Building purchase in December 2014. The sprawling, almost 120,000-foot plaza went for $5.5 million. It was essentially on sale. When it sold six years earlier, it cost nearly double: $9.95 million.

The buy was part of the county government's master plan to create a judicial complex downtown.

Although many county employees will use Chase Tower space, they will not force out existing tenants, such as the state office of the public defender and many private attorneys. County employees will move into spaces that have long been vacant.

By the numbers

Weld County’s Child Welfare Division is in high demand. Here are a few figures about the work its employees have done between January and October of this year: